Masoom Raza Mirza, Lubna Habib, Farhat Jaleel.
Patient`s preference for the route of postoperative analgesia.
Pak J Surg Jan ;21(2):81-3.

Objective: To find out the preferred route (injectable or rectal) for postoperative analgesia in our patients. Design & Duration: Cross sectional study conducted on 100 patients. Setting: Department of Surgery, Hamdard University Hospital, Karachi. Patients: 100 patients who underwent the operations of herniorrhaphy, cholecystectomy and appendicectomy. Methodology: Patients were given the choice of having post-operative analgesia either through injectable (intramuscular, intravenous) or rectal route, and the data analyzed. Results: The results showed that 74% patients preferred injectable, while only 24% preferred rectal route for postoperative analgesia. The reason for rejection of the rectal route was doubt about its efficacy in 45 cases, shyness in 14 and unawareness in 11 patients. Four patients gave no reason or any comment. Conclusion: It is therefore concluded that rectal route should be used cautiously, and if it is necessary a specific consent should be taken pre-operatively to protect against litigation, in case an adverse situation develops.

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